Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.07.24.220772v1?rss=1 Authors: Jiang, X., Radko, Y., Gren, T., Palazzotto, E., Jorgensen, T. S., Cheng, T., Xian, M., Weber, T., Lee, S. Y. Abstract: Epsilon-polylysine ({varepsilon}-PL) is an antimicrobial commercially produced by Streptomyces fermentation and widely used in Asian countries for food preservation. Here we discovered a gene from cheese bacterium Corynebacterium variabile that showed high similarity to the {varepsilon}-PL synthetase from Streptomyces in terms of enzymatic domain architecture and gene context. By cloning it into Streptomyces coelicolor with a Streptomyces albulus {varepsilon}-PL synthetase promoter, we confirmed that its product is indeed {varepsilon}-PL. A comprehensive sequence analysis suggests that {varepsilon}-PL synthetases are widely spread among coryneform bacteria isolated from cheese and human skin; 14 out of 15 Brevibacterium isolates and 10 out of 12 Corynebacterium isolates contain Pls gene. This discovery raises the possibility that {varepsilon}-PL as a bioactive secondary metabolite might be produced and play a role in the cheese and skin ecosystems. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info